Abstract
Structured light, in particular light possessing orbital angular momentum (OAM), has been actively studied in recent decades. Helical Bragg grating (HBG) is a reflecting optical element, which predicted to be able to convert the OAM of light in waveguides and fibers. However, the HBG has not been demonstrated experimentally yet. Here we report the first experimental manifestation of HBG created in the form of a waveguide with depressed-index cladding. Few-mode channel helical-depressed-cladding waveguides (HDCWs) have been written in a YAG crystal by a femtosecond laser beam. The HDCW pitches were comparable to near-IR wavelengths. The spectral and polarization characteristics of the transmitted and reflected light have been studied. It was shown that HDCWs behave like HBGs providing narrowband resonance coupling of the counter propagating modes, the OAM of the modes differing by the Bragg order or, what is the same, the topological charge of the helical cladding structure. Adjusting the HDCW parameters allows one to excite a reflected wave at the predetermined wavelength and with the predetermined OAM change with respect to the light coupled to the waveguide. Thus, for the first time, the HBGs suitable for the generation and filtration of the vortex light have been experimentally demonstrated. The experimental results obtained agree well with the coupled mode theory calculations.
PDF Article
More Like This
Direct generation of orbital angular momentum in orthogonal fiber Bragg grating
Rui Liu, Yali Li, Jiayan Chen, Luping Wu, Jianjun Ran, Zikai Chen, Zhiyong Bai, Churou Huang, Zheng Huang, Guoxuan Zhu, Changrui Liao, and Yiping Wang
Opt. Express 30(16) 28745-28751 (2022)
Cited By
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription
Add to BibSonomy